Scatterbug
by Mythril Moth
Summary: While fighting an Akumatized with division-based powers, Ladybug is divided into multiple copies of herself, each representing a different part of her personality. With the Akuma released prematurely and an army of Akumatized copies menacing Paris, Chat Noir has to find all the scattered Ladybugs and bring them together to finish the fight and restore the one and only Ladybug.
1. Prologue

**Author's Notes:**

An idea I had at three in the morning that I just couldn't pass up on. Of course, this is a fairly tired plot trope by now, but I haven't seen anyone tackle it with Miraculous Ladybug yet, so...here we go!

Oh, and if you're one of my regular readers waiting for updates to my other Ladybug stories: I'm sorry it's been so long. Long story short, I got hit by Hurricane Harvey and my life kinda got turned upside down. I'm displaced from my home, staying with family until my apartment is refurbished, and just trying to get back into my normal routine.

Anyway, hope you enjoy this!

* * *

 **MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "SCATTERBUG"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

* * *

 **PROLOGUE**

* * *

Paris was in an uproar.

This was a more common occurrence recently, of course—ever since the arrival of the supervillain Hawk Moth and the two teen superheroes Ladybug and Chat Noir, there had been an incident at least once a week involving some random supervillain unleashed upon Paris by Hawk Moth.

The latest crazed villain soared through the air on a hoversled in the shape of a division symbol, cackling as she threw glowing projectiles shaped like division symbols at random bits of the city. Every time her projectiles hit something, a different but horrifying thing happened: Cars fell apart, buildings were split evenly along the walls between rooms and floors, trees were cut into neat, even pieces of lumber.

The villain herself wore a two-tone bodysuit that was sharply divided down the middle; the right half was electric blue while the left half was a bright yellow. She wore a blue-tinted white belt with a division symbol shaped buckle, a dark blue split skirt, dark blue mid-calf boots with spike heels, and dark blue elbow-length gloves. A dark blue division symbol crossed her chest; she wore a dark blue domino mask over her eyes. Her long hair streamed behind her in two ponytails: the right one was blond, while the left one was dyed electric blue.

"EVERYTHING MUST BE EVENLY DIVIDED!" she declared, her voice projecting over the streets.

"Okay, Division Girl," a bored-sounding voice called out from above. "It's time for you to split."

In a black blur, Chat Noir dropped down from a rooftop, spinning his silver-black baton. The villain threw a projectile at him, which he deflected into the sky, where it struck an unfortunate pigeon. Chat Noir didn't see what happened to the pigeon, nor did he care to; he was focused on unseating his quarry from her hoverboard.

"My NAME," she spat, "is DIVIDIA LONG! And it's time _you_ were divided from _your Miraculous!_ " She lashed out at Chat Noir with a kick, which he parried and countered. The board wobbled and weaved as they fought back and forth atop it.

A yo-yo launched out of nowhere, wrapping around Dividia Long's neck and dragging her from her board. "Find the Akuma!" Ladybug shouted as she landed in a crouch, blue eyes blazing with determination behind her spotted red mask.

"On it!" Chat Noir said, giving Dividia a once-over. He frowned. "I'm...not seeing anything that looks like the Akuma might be in it," he said.

"Well it's gotta be _somewhere!_ " Ladybug cried. Dividia took a wild shot at her, forcing her to dive wildly to the side; cackling, she kicked Chat Noir in the face, climbed back onto her board, and flew up high, firing dozens of division projectiles at the two heroes. Ladybug was forced to recall her yo-yo to deflect them; she winced as buildings, trees, and cars suffered the fate of division.

"You fools are no match for me!" Dividia laughed. "But just to make sure...it's time you were DIVIDED!" She held out her hands, and a pair of glowing division brackets appeared in them. Letting out a battle cry, she swooped down at the two heroes, who had just regrouped in the center of the street.

"Chat Noir, look out!" Ladybug called. The heroes separated, diving out of her way; Dividia swung back around, briefly fencing with Chat Noir before kicking him in the gut and sending him sprawling into a stack of cut wood. With Chat Noir down, she turned her attention to Ladybug. Ladybug tried to keep her at a distance with her yo-yo, but Dividia was too agile on her board and Ladybug couldn't use her yo-yo to gain ground on her without dropping her guard. One misstep by Ladybug, one overextension with her yo-yo, and...

"AAAAAAAAH!"

Chat Noir bolted out of his pile, eyes wide. _"LADYBUG!"_ He watched in horror as Dividia's weapon struck Ladybug dead center in the chest, sending her flying through a plate glass window. _"NO!"_ With an enraged snarl, Chat Noir launched himself at Dividia, claws bared. _"You'll pay for that!"_

Dividia laughed. "Poor kitty, divided from his Ladybug. What do you think you can do on your own, little kitten?"

"You're about to find out," Chat Noir snarled. **"CATACLYSM!"** His right fist glowed with motes of destructive black energy as he closed on his prey. Dividia's eyes widened; she frantically tried to fend him off, but he contemptuously swatted her attacks away with his baton, his claw outstretched for the kill.

When Dividia tried to fly out of the way, to twist her body to avoid the hit, Chat Noir ended up snagging her skirt. It shredded into a flurry of fibers; as it disintegrated, a purple-and-black Akuma flapped madly away into the bright summer sky.

Chat Noir watched it go, eyes wide, his confusion eroding his anger. "It was in her _skirt?!_ "

Dividia's hoverboard disintegrated as a purple-black mist rolled over her. Chat Noir grimaced; his anger over what happened to Ladybug broken, he caught the girl Dividia transformed into and gently lowered her to the ground, laying her on the street. She was a plain, bespectacled girl wearing a sweater-vest, knee socks, and sensible shoes. The remains of a plaid skirt drifted to the street.

Chat Noir blinked, blushed, and looked away as the girl's hair restyled itself into a dark blond braid. "Ahem." He looked up into the sky, grimacing. "Ladybug..."

A red hand grabbed his throat with crushing force. A pair of furious blue eyes drilled into him.

"IDIOT!" Ladybug snarled. "You let the Akuma escape! You KNOW what'll happen now!"

"L-Ladybug..." Chat Noir gurgled. "Y-you're alright..."

"No, I'm not alright, I'm _pissed!_ " Ladybug snapped. "Why do you have to go and be so _stupid_ all the time, you...you...!"

"C-can't breathe..." Chat Noir rasped.

Ladybug dropped him unceremoniously. "Good grief," she said sourly. She glanced at the former Dividia Long; her eyes narrowed. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO THIS GIRL?!" she shrieked.

"I-I didn't do anything!" Chat Noir cried, panicked. He stood up, flailing his arms. "Th-the Akuma! It was in her skirt! It...it was an accident, I—"

Ladybug kicked him in the face. "Perverted tomcat!" she snapped. She stalked over to a random bystander and snapped her fingers. "You! Give me your jacket!"

The man paled. "Uhh...h-here!" he said, taking off his jacket. Ladybug walked over and covered Dividia's exposed panties with it, then squatted down. "Well, at least you didn't manage to kill her or anything," she said. She slapped Dividia across the cheeks. "Hey, wake up!"

"H-huh?" the girl mumbled drowsily, looking up. "Wha—?"

"Go home," Ladybug said. "You're not wearing a skirt, so be careful."

"EEP!" The girl jumped up, cheeks flaming as she scrambled to get out of the street, wrapping the borrowed jacket tightly around her loins.

Ladybug stood watching her go, grumbling and muttering to herself. Chat Noir walked up behind her, hesitantly reaching out a claw but afraid to touch her. "Umm, Ladybug? Are you...are you okay?"

"Blow off," Ladybug snarled, slinging her yo-yo at her side. "I think I recognized that girl, which probably means Chloé Bourgeois is behind all this. I think I'm gonna go give her a piece of my mind." With that, she swung off in the direction of Le Grand Paris.

Chat Noir sighed heavily, shoulders slumping. "Glad you're safe," he muttered. His Miraculous beeped; he glanced at the two glowing green pads on the ring, grimaced, and took off to find a safe place to change back.

High above, a slender girl in a purple bodysuit watched him leave the scene. After a moment's hesitation, she took off after him, purple yo-yo flying out and wrapping around a balustrade as she jumped from a roof...

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	2. Chapter 1

**MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "SCATTERBUG"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 1**

* * *

Chat Noir looked left and right as he ducked into the alcove of a cafe's employee entrance. Certain nobody was around, he dropped his transformation, leaned against the bricks behind him, and sighed. "What was up with—"

A sharp gasp sounded from above. Adrien's eyes snapped open, his heart hammering. _"Merde—"_

"Adrien?"

A purple shape dropped down in front of him. Adrien stared, his brain seizing up at the sight before him. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "What the—?!" He looked the girl staring him up and down in wonder, blinking his eyes rapidly. "Ladybug...?"

It couldn't be Ladybug, he told himself. It looked like her—the same spots, the yo-yo, the shiny dark hair pulled back in two short pigtails, the sparkling bluebell eyes, the soft, cute lips.

But her outfit was purple. A bright lavender, like candy-covered chocolates.

"Adrien, you're...you're Chat Noir?" she said in wonder. After a moment, she shook her head. "Nevermind that, are you okay?" She bit her lip worriedly, invading his personal space to examine his throat. "I saw what happened on the street. That...that impostor, she was choking you, and then screaming at you, and then I...I..." She stepped back, tears shining in her eyes. "I was so worried for you, and for that poor girl who was Akumatized, but I couldn't get down there in time to do anything..." She shifted her weight. "And there's an Akuma still on the loose, which means more people are going to...and I can't use Miraculous Ladybug to fix everything yet, so there's so much damage, and..."

Adrien frowned, moving forward and taking her shoulder. "Hey. Hey. Shh. Calm down." He looked into those wet, fretful blue eyes and his heart jumped into his throat. "Are you...are you really Ladybug?"

Ladybug frowned. "Of...of course I am, Adrien," she said. "Why would you—"

Adrien grabbed her wrist and held her hand up in front of her face. Ladybug blinked, staring at her own hand. Her forehead furrowed in confusion. "Huh?" She shook her head. "What...what happened?"

"This is definitely Ladybug," Plagg said quietly, zipping up to examine the purple-suited girl. "Problem is, so was that other Ladybug, the one who was all shouty."

Adrien frowned. "How's that possible?" he asked. He shook his head. "Is this...is this like Chronogirl? Two Ladybugs, one from the future?"

"I don't think so," Plagg said. "Besides, that wouldn't explain why this one's purple."

Purplebug bit her lip. "Look...we can worry about that later," she said. "Right now, I'm worried about you. And..." She frowned. "And we need to check on that poor girl, make sure she got home okay. And then...and then..." She crouched down, clutching her head. "So many people suffering because of this..." She whimpered; tears spilled from her eyes.

Adrien squatted down in front of her, taking hold of her shoulders. "It's...it's alright, Bugaboo," he said softly. "Look, don't—don't worry about me. Right now, we need to worry about _you_. Something...something happened back there. We need to figure out what." He grimaced. "And we need to get ready for a storm of Dividias." He sighed. "Man, I hate math homework that's nothing but multiplication and division."

Purplebug giggled softly between sniffles. "B-bad joke, Minou," she said gently. At Adrien's urging, she rose to her feet; she moved on autopilot as Adrien steered her in the direction of his house.

* * *

Chloé Bourgeois' head snapped up sharply in alarm as the glass balcony doors of her suite shattered. Ladybug stormed into the room, fury in her eyes; she stalked over to the bed where Chloé was lounging. "YOU!" Ladybug snarled.

"L-Ladybug?" Chloé gasped. "Wh-what's going on? Why are you—"

Ladybug grabbed Chloé by the neck and lifted her into the air. "I am SO SICK OF YOU DOING STUFF THAT TURNS PEOPLE INTO AKUMATIZED!" she yelled. "Do you have ANY IDEA HOW MUCH I HATE YOU?!"

Chloé blinked. "You h-hate me...?" she asked shakily.

"YES! EVERYBODY HATES YOU!" Ladybug ranted. "You're a massive bitch to everyone in Paris! You think the whole world revolves around you! You treat everyone like crap and you don't care about anything but yourself! Well I'm SICK OF IT!" She threw Chloé back onto her bed. "The next time you do something horrible to somebody and they get Akumatized and come after you, I'm going to LET THEM HAVE YOU! I am SICK of protecting your worthless, spoiled, self-absorbed butt!"

With that, she turned and stormed out of the room, throwing her yo-yo at the nearest building and swinging off into the city.

Chloé stared after her in shock and confusion for a long moment. Then she stood up, planting her hands on her hips, and frowned. "Well!" she said sniffily. "That was rude!"

* * *

A purple-black butterfly perched at the top of Eiffel Tower, flapping its wings. Slowly, in fits and starts, it began multiplying; tourists and passersby looked up in shock, surprise, and alarm as dozens, then hundreds of butterflies swarmed from the top of the tower, a dark cloud spreading outward over the city.

As the butterflies spread over the city, dozens of people transformed into motionless copies of Dividia, frozen in various poses ranging from taunting to smirking to yelling to attacking. Those who avoided being changed stampeded for safety, screaming and panicking.

In a dark room full of dozens of white butterflies, Hawk Moth looked out over the city and smiled grimly.

"I've been waiting for this," he said with a dark, sinister chuckle. He struck the floor with his cane. The original Akuma fluttered weakly through the gap in the butterfly motif in his window; it came to rest on the top of his cane and sank into the gem there, silent and still.

"Soon," Hawk Moth said. "Soon, Dividia will rise again. Soon, Paris will be divided. And soon, _Ladybug and Chat Noir will be divided from their Miraculous!_ "

* * *

"Nathalie?" Adrien called out into the cavernous foyer of the Agreste manor. "Father?" When he received no answer, he let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, nobody's here."

Purplebug followed him upstairs to his room. As they passed the giant portrait of his mother, her eyes softened. "You miss her so much," she said. "I wish I could do something about that..."

Adrien coughed. "Y-yeah," he said. "Don't...don't worry about that right now. We need to...we need to figure out what's going on with you." When they were safely behind the closed door of Adrien's bedroom, he sat down in his computer chair. "So, umm..." He scratched his cheek. "You...you know I'm Chat Noir now," he said.

"Umm...y-yeah," Purplebug said sheepishly, looking away. "Is that...is that okay? I know I shouldn't have, it's just...I was so worried about you..."

Adrien smiled. "It's fine." He fussed with the hem of his shirt. "But, umm...I mean, since you know who I am now, and since I need to help you, and your Kwami probably needs to rest..." He made a meaningful gesture.

Purplebug blinked. "Huh?"

"He means it's time to share who _you_ are," Plagg said roughly as he rooted through a pile of Camembert.

"O-oh," Purplebug stammered. "Right." She sighed. "Tikki, spots off."

Nothing happened.

She blinked. "Spots off?"

Again, nothing happened.

Purplebug frowned and reached up to her earrings. She tried to take them off, but winced and hissed as a shower of purple sparks spat out of them, singing her gloved fingertips.

Plagg blinked, looking up from his cheese. "Huh. That's not good."

Adrien stared. "What...what's going on here?"

"I-I don't know," Purplebug said. "I...I can't change back!" She sat down on the sofa, running her fingers through her hair, then pulling on her pigtails. "What's happening to me?"

Plagg hovered in front of her, chewing thoughtfully on a piece of cheese. "Well, it isn't the first time I've seen a Miraculous user stuck like this," he said. "Usually it has something to do with whatever magical attack you were hit with."

"You mean like that time I got hit by Reflekta?" Adrien asked.

"Yeah, like that," Plagg agreed. "Since the Akuma got away and Ladybug didn't use her special ability to fix everything, then whatever happened to her is still in effect."

Adrien frowned. "That Akumatized...her powers were all centered around division..."

There was a knock at the window. Purplebug and Adrien looked at each other in alarm.

The window opened. "Adrien?" Ladybug's voice called out. "Adrien, are you home? I...I wanted to visit you..."

Purplebug, Adrien, and Plagg stared as a pink-suited Ladybug walked into the room. Her eyes landed on Adrien and lit up. She rushed over to him. "Adrien!" She batted her eyelashes. "Oh, Adrien! You don't know how happy I am to see you!"

"You...are?" Adrien asked, looking from Pinkbug to Purplebug. Purplebug's face was flushed; she looked positively mortified.

"Adrien, I..." Pinkbug clasped her hands in front of her and flashed Adrien a coy smile. "I was hoping we could, umm...maybe spend some time together...alone..." She looked up at him hopefully. "Like maybe a d—"

Purplebug was across the room in a flash, her arms wrapped tightly around Pinkbug's head. "LET'S—! GO OVER HERE FOR A MINUTE, HAHAHAHA, YEAH!" She dragged her squirming, flailing double across the room. Adrien and Plagg watched, bemused.

Once they were out of earshot, Purplebug rounded on Pinkbug. "Are you CRAZY?" she cried. "This is NOT THE TIME for that!"

Pinkbug snorted. "It's ALWAYS the time for Adrien." She sighed dreamily. "Adrien..."

Purplebug pinched the bridge of her nose. "Adrien's just been through a terrible ordeal," she said. "Also, he's Chat Noir, and he just saw me—us— _Ladybug_ get hurt badly! And to top it all off, we lost the Akuma! There's so many people out there suffering right now because we failed! I'm sorry, but this just isn't the time to think about—"

Pinkbug gasped. "Adrien is Chat Noir?! Are you serious?! Oh my gosh, that's perfect! We know he's in love with Ladybug, so that means I win!" She melted into a gooey, lovestruck puddle. "My perfect future, it's just waiting for me..."

Purplebug groaned. "Yes, happily ever after, but that's for _later_ , when the city isn't _suffering_ because we screwed up! And more importantly, _Adrien is worried sick about me—I mean us—because something's gone horribly wrong!_ "

Pinkbug blinked. She frowned. She tilted her head, looking Purplebug up and down, then looking down at herself. "...huh," she said. "The heck?"

"Really? It took you _this long_ to notice?" Purplebug asked.

Pinkbug laughed sheepishly. "What can I say? I was thinking about Adrien..." She sighed. "Adrien..."

Purplebug facepalmed. "I can't possibly be _this_ obsessed..."

"Hmm."

Both Ladybugs turned to see Plagg studying them intently. Across the room, Adrien was watching the news; his screen showed dozens of Dividias standing stock-still in the streets of Paris.

Plagg twitched a whisker and pointed at Pinkbug. "You came here looking for Adrien because you're in love with him."

Pinkbug let out a dreamy sigh.

Plagg pointed at Purplebug. "You're worried about Adrien and all the people suffering because of the Akumatized."

Purplebug nodded, swallowing a lump in her throat. "I can't just...I can't stop thinking about it...I need to do something to help, to..."

Plagg held up a paw to stall her. "The red Ladybug from earlier, the one we thought was just Ladybug..."

Purplebug frowned. "She was...seriously angry," she said. "I thought she was seriously gonna kill Adrien."

Pinkbug gasped. "K-KILL ADRIEN?!" Her eyes narrowed, burning with intense, fierce devotion. "Let me at her, I'll—"

Adrien wandered over. "What's going on here?" he asked. Pinkbug immediately deflated, reverting to her lovestruck, adoring demeanor.

Plagg's whiskers twitched. "I think I know what's going on here, and if I'm right, it's a big mess."

Purplebug's brow furrowed. "I think I'm starting to get it too," she said. She pointed at Pinkbug. "This one is all lovey-dovey and can't focus on anything but Adrien." She blushed.

Adrien blushed too. "Umm..."

Purplebug shook her head to clear it. "The red one from earlier, she was just...really angry."

"Yeah, she was ticked off at me for screwing up," Adrien said. "Accused me of being a pervert because, ummm...because I accidentally destroyed the Akumatized's skirt." He coughed. "Even though that turned out to be where the Akuma was..." He frowned. "Then she said something about going over to Le Grand Paris to scream at Chloé."

"That makes sense," Purplebug said. "I always want to scream at Chloé." She frowned. "Except right now. Right now I just want to go make sure she's okay and I didn't hurt her or anything." She blinked. "I...I care about Chloé? Since when?"

"Since you're all of Ladybug's compassion," Adrien said in dawning wonder, his eyes wide. "Is that right, Plagg?"

"Yep," Plagg said, nodding. "This one's Ladybug's compassion, this one's her love, the red one's her anger..." He chuckled. "You usually only see this kind of thing in those Japanese comics you like."

"That attack divided me into...into different parts of my personality," Purplebug said, blinking.

"Oh, is that what this is?" Pinkbug asked. "Good. Then you and Angry Redbug can deal with saving Paris while I go on a long, romantic date with Adrien."

Purplebug facepalmed. "No," she said. "Just...no."

Adrien blushed. "Umm...I would _love_ to go on a date with Ladybug," he said. "But... _all_ of you. When you're in your right mind. Not...not _this_."

Pinkbug sniffled. "No?" she mewled.

"Sorry, but...this? I...I can't leave you like this," Adrien said. "I can't...we have to find Redbug and...and figure out how we're gonna put you back together."

"The only way to do that is to purify the original Akuma and use Miraculous Ladybug to fix all the damage," Plagg pointed out.

"Wait a minute," Purplebug said, holding up a hand. "Miraculous Ladybug should be able to fix _this_ whether or not the Akuma is caught, right?" She tossed her yo-yo into the air. _**"LUCKY CHARM!"**_

A few purple sparks issued from the yo-yo. It dropped back down, landing on the floor.

They all stared at it.

"Oh...kay..." Purplebug said, biting her lip. "That...could be a problem..."

* * *

An orange-suited Ladybug stood on the observation deck of Eiffel Tower, looking out over the city with steely, determined blue eyes.

"Where are you hiding, Hawk Moth?" she said softly. "I swear, I am going to find you and put a stop to this once and for all..."

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	3. Chapter 2

**MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "SCATTERBUG"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 2**

* * *

"Oh...kay..." Purplebug said, biting her lip. "That...could be a problem..."

Adrien felt his heart sink into the soles of his shoes. "We're dead," he said tonelessly. "If your powers don't work, we're...we're dead..."

"Calm down," Plagg said. He grumbled. "I've never been good with this kind of thing, this is Tikki's department, but..." He shook his head. "If Ladybug's been divided, that means her power's been divided too. Which could mean a number of things."

"Like?"

"I just said I'm not the one who knows this stuff!" Plagg snapped.

Purplebug frowned. "Dividia was obsessed with dividing things _evenly_ ," she said. "Maybe...maybe that's what happened to me? Err, us? Ladybug?" She shook her head. "Maybe...maybe the Ladybug powers will only work if every piece of me tries to use them at the same time."

"Sounds about right," Plagg said, nodding. "Sounds like something Tikki would say anyway."

"So we need to find the angry Redbug?" Adrien asked hopefully. "Then all three of you can—"

"Pray she only got divided into three," Plagg interrupted. His whiskers twitched. "I honestly don't see this being _that_ easy."

"Well what do we do, then?" Purplebug asked. "I...I want to get this fixed as fast as we can so we can get back to helping Paris..."

"I want to get this over with so I can have a date with Adrien," Pinkbug said.

"Hmm." Plagg flew around the two Ladybugs. "Well, the trick is what the other Ladybugs are going to do. They may not realize there's a problem at all. They may be too obsessed with some other thing to even _try_ to change back.

Adrien bit off a curse. "And with Paris being such a big city, it could take _days_ to find every Ladybug. And we don't even know how many we're looking for!"

Plagg grimaced. "We need to figure out where—" He looked at Purplebug. "Wait a second," he said. "Of course! What we _need_ is for _you_ to tell us every conceivable place you might go right now."

Purplebug blinked. "Umm..."

"Home," Pinkbug said, nodding. "Other than here to see Adrien, I'd definitely go home."

"Y-yeah," Purplebug said. "H-home..." She bit her lip. "I-I think we'll need to...need to look there."

"Okay, where else?" Adrien asked.

Purplebug frowned. "School, Le Grand Paris—we know Redbug went there but there's no telling where she is now—umm..."

"Trocadero," Pinkbug said. "I love spending time at Trocadero."

Purplebug nodded. "The Eiffel Tower, since this Akuma mess is spreading out from there..." She gasped. "Hawk Moth! There could be one of me trying to track down Hawk Moth!"

"Really?" Adrien asked. "You...you spend time trying to find Hawk Moth?"

Purplebug shook her head. "No, but only because I know it's a waste of time. But early on, I wanted to try to track him down before Tikki convinced me it was a bad idea." She nodded. "Part of me still wants to find him and put a stop to this, so..." She shrugged.

"Well, it's a start," Plagg said. "We need to spread out and start searching."

Adrien nodded. "We'll regroup here," he said. "Pinkbug, you go home, see what's happening there. Purplebug, go check the school. I'll start at Le Grand Paris." He held out his right fist. **"Plagg, claws out!"**

Plagg was sucked into the ring; the Ladybugs watched in fascination as Adrien transformed into Chat Noir. He flashed the girls a reassuring grin, then leapt out the window.

"Wow...Adrien..." Pinkbug let out a breathy sigh. "Mon petit minou..."

Purplebug sighed. "Is _this_ what Alya has to put up with?" She shook her head. "Come on, Lovebug. Get over to the bakery. There's probably another me back there who's _really_ confused." With that, she headed for the window and launched herself out into the city. Pinkbug hung back long enough to drape herself over Adrien's bed and sniff it from end to end before regretfully leaving for home.

* * *

Mayor Bourgeious tapped his fingers nervously on his desk as he watched several different news reports, biting his lip. "She said this'd never happen again," he muttered. "She _swore_ they'd keep this from happening again..."

"Ladybug and Chat Noir aren't perfect, Monsieur Mayor," Roger Raincomprix said, hands folded behind his back. "They make mistakes. They're kids, after all. Kids doing the police's job."

"Oh, like you're _so_ much better at this than we are."

Both men turned, eyes wide in shock.

Ladybug sauntered into the Mayor's office, eyes narrowed, a cold sneer on her face. For some reason, instead of her usual red costume, she was clad head to toe in a bright, lemony yellow.

"Ladybug," Mayor Bourgeois said. "What happened? You and Chat Noir usually stop these things before they get out of control. I mean, after that first one anyway."

"Yeah, did you not get enough breakfast this morning?" Roger asked. "And what's with the makeover?"

"Obviously, Chat Noir screwed up," Ladybug said. "I mean, how else could this have happened? I would _never_ make this kind of mistake." She snorted. "Anyway, I just dropped by to tell you to stay out of my way. I'll deal with this when the original Akumatized shows back up. The last thing I need is Paris' most incompetent getting in my way." She glared at Roger. "That _especially_ goes for you. Keep your fat mouth shut unless you're cramming a croissant in it." With that, she sauntered out, swaying her hips, leaving the two men to stare in dumbfounded shock.

"Uhh..." Roger droned.

Mayor Bourgeois fiddled with his sash. "Hmm. That was...unpleasant. And so very unlike her."

"Yeah, she was acting more like your daughter," Roger said absently.

"What was that?" the mayor asked, bristling.

"Uhh...! Nothing, SIR!"

* * *

When Chat Noir landed on the balcony of Chloé's suite at Le Grand Paris, he found hotel employees busily cleaning up busted glass. He strolled into the room, frowning. Chloé was curled up on her bed, in the deepest pout he'd seen in a long time. She looked up at him and scowled. "Come to yell at me too?" she sneered.

Chat Noir shook his head. "No, but I'm guessing Ladybug was here?"

"Oh, she was _here_ alright," Chloé snapped. "And if she doesn't want to be run out of Paris, she'll never show her face here _ever again!_ "

Chat Noir sighed. "Let me guess. She smashed her way in here, roughed you up, screamed at you, then left?"

"That's right," Chloé said. Her nose wrinkled. "What's her damage?"

Chat Noir ran a hand through his bangs. "It's...a long story," he said. "Did you see where she went?"

"Of course not, and I don't care!" Chloé said snottily. "I'm just glad she's gone!"

"Right, well—"

"Chat Noir, what happened here? Was Chloé attacked by the Akumatized?"

"LADYBUG!" Chloé screeched. "OUT! GET OUT! GO AWAY!"

Chat Noir turned to see an orange Ladybug looking over the damage to the balcony, eyes narrowed and focused intently. "Ladybug," he said calmly. He looked her up and down and bit his lip. "Well, that's progress, at least..."

Orangebug turned to face him. "The Akuma got away, right? I'm hoping we can use this one to draw Hawk Moth out and put a stop to this." She glanced at Chloé. "Why's she screaming?"

"She had a visit from a different Ladybug earlier. It wasn't a nice one."

"A different Ladybug?" Orangebug asked, tilting her head.

"Dividia's attack split you," Chat Noir said. "It divided you into multiple Ladybugs, each representing a different part of your personality." His tail lashed. "So far you're the fourth one we know of. We don't know how many there are."

Orangebug blinked. "Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah." Chat Noir frowned. "The red Ladybug that tore through here and did _this_ was your anger. I, uhh..." He coughed. "I ran into your compassion and your, umm...lovesick side earlier. We're all searching Paris for more of you."

Orangebug grimaced. "Wonderful." She glanced at Chloé, who was watching them with a confused but contemplative expression. "Umm...sorry," she said. "I mean, you are kind of a pest and there are times I want to yell at you for how you act, but that's no excuse for what, umm... _I_ apparently did here."

Chloé sniffed and turned away, pointing her nose in the air.

"Right," Orangebug said, shaking her head. "So you know where two other mes are?" she asked. At Chat Noir's nod, she set her jaw. "Good. You and the other Ladybugs handle _this_ mess. I'm going to try to track down Hawk Moth and—"

"Not a good plan, Bugaboo," Chat Noir said. "You can't use your powers like this. The others have tried. We have to find _every_ piece of you and get you all together or we can't fix _any_ of this."

Orangebug bit her lip. _"Merde,"_ she sighed. "Alright. How can I help?"

* * *

Pinkbug dropped through the trap door, climbed down from the loft, and made a circuit of the room, lovingly kissing every picture of Adrien. She paused when she heard a sniffling from the big computer chair by the desk. The news was on. She frowned and walked over, looking over the back of the chair.

A blue-suited Ladybug was curled up in the chair, knees drawn up to her chin. She was sniffling and her eyes were wet. "I messed up," she whimpered. "I messed up and it happened again and all those people and it's all my fault and I _knew_ I wasn't cut out to be Ladybug..." She reached up to her ears to take off the earrings, but recoiled when the Miraculous spat angry blue sparks at her. "What...?"

Pinkbug tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey," she said.

Bluebug looked up at her, blinked, and fell off the chair. "UWAH!" she cried. "Wh-what? Who?"

Pinkbug squatted down. "You must be my insecurity," she said.

"Huh?"

Pinkbug took Bluebug's hands. "Come to Adrien's place with me," she said. "It's useless hanging around here, and he won't go on a date with me if I don't bring all the Colorbugs back to his place first." She giggled. "I think he just wants more Ladybugs to have fun with," she said with a twinkle of her eyes.

Bluebug recoiled. "Huh-what—who are you?"

"I'm you," Pinkbug said, gesturing at herself. "Dividia's attack divided Ladybug into a bunch of different Colorbugs. Adrien is Chat Noir and he's fired up to fix all this, and I guess that purple Ladybug is too, but all I wanna do is curl up with Adrien somewhere and, well..." She blushed, clasping her hands to her cheeks.

Bluebug blinked. "Uhh..." She shook her head. "A-Adrien is...is Chat Noir?" She tucked her chin into her knees. "Then...then he doesn't need me," she said. "If...if he's Chat Noir, then..."

Pinkbug rolled her eyes. "Just shut up and come with me," she said. She snatched Bluebug's yo-yo and tied her up with it, then took off into the city on her own yo-yo, dragging a screaming, flailing Bluebug behind her.

* * *

Purplebug sighed as she sat on the edge of the roof of Collège Françoise Dupont. She'd searched the entire school, but there'd been no sign of any other Ladybugs or of the Akumatized victim. "I guess...I should try looking someplace else..."

A yo-yo wrapped around her ankle, dragging her to the ground.

She struggled to pull free, then threw her own yo-yo reflexively. It was caught in an iron grip by a red-gloved hand.

"So, Hawk Moth's creating impostors of me again?" Redbug asked, eyes narrowed in rage. "Well, you're just what I needed to blow off some steam..."

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


	4. Chapter 3

**MIRACULOUS LADYBUG: "SCATTERBUG"**

 _by Mythril Moth_

* * *

 **CHAPTER 3**

* * *

"So, Hawk Moth's creating impostors of me again?" Redbug asked, eyes narrowed in rage. "Well, you're just what I needed to blow off some steam..."

"W-wait!" Purplebug said pleadingly, struggling to untangle herself and free her own yo-yo from Redbug's grip. "It isn't like that!"

"Oh, I'll just _bet it isn't!_ " Redbug snarled. With a sharp tug of her yo-yo, she sent Purplebug slamming into the concrete roof, stunning her. Then, with a yell of rage, she spun Purplebug over her head and launched her into the courtyard. The few people who were hanging around the school during lunch break were startled as Purplebug slammed into the blacktop, skidding across it before landing in a heap.

Redbug dropped down in front of her, pure anger on her face as she reached down and hauled her counterpart to her knees. "So where is it?" she demanded. "The earrings?" She reached out to remove Purplebug's Miraculous...

Angry purple sparks snapped at her, clashing with red sparks that danced off her own fingers. She hissed and drew back, eyes narrowed. "What the—"

Purplebug, still dazed from the brutal assault, struggled to tangle Redbug up in her own yo-yo wire while she was distracted. As Redbug thrashed and struggled, she leaned in close. "Listen," she said insistently. " _Neither of us_ is Ladybug. I mean, we both are, but we're _not_."

"What the hell are you talking about?!" Redbug snarled. "I think I know who I am!"

"And are you always this angry?" Purplebug asked softly. "Is this normal for us?"

Redbug frowned. "Why shouldn't I be angry? This whole day's been nothing but one disaster after another! Chat Noir, Chloé, Hawk Moth, _you_ , it's...!"

Purplebug sighed. "Look...remember Dividia's attack? It divided Ladybug into different parts of her personality." She gestured at herself. "I'm part of Ladybug, and so are you. And we're stuck like this, unable to use our powers or help _anyone_ , until we can find all the pieces of us."

Redbug stared at her. "Bullshit," she said.

Purplebug shrugged helplessly. "Everything we've seen the Akumatized do, you think this isn't possible?" She shook her head. "You're Ladybug's anger. You know, the part of us that..."

"Gets angry and flies off the handle," Redbug growled, slumping. "Yeah. Okay. And what are you?"

"Compassion, apparently," Purplebug said. "There's a pink one that's just plain lovesick and obsessed with Adrien, and we don't know how many others there are but we're searching Paris, me, the pink one, and Chat Noir."

Redbug growled. "Chat Noir! If he'd been on top of his game in the first place—"

"Chat Noir didn't do anything wrong," Purplebug said. "He's terribly worried about all of us. He wants...he wants Ladybug back. All of her. And I want that too. Because I can't do _anything_ for the people of Paris like this, and...and because I can't stand seeing Chat Noir so worried."

Redbug snorted. "Fine," she said. She frowned. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"Well, Pinkbug went to check the bakery," Purplebug said. "If any of us went home, she'll find them...if she isn't busy staring at pictures of Adrien..." She sighed. "Chat Noir went to Le Grand Paris." She picked up her yo-yo and flipped it open, hitting the call signal.

Static greeted her.

Redbug snorted. "Great, he's not even bothering to stay in range or...or he's changed back and is off screwing around, or—"

"I don't think so," Purplebug said. She frowned as she held her yo-yo up, waving it around. "I'm not getting _anything_ ," she said worriedly. "I think the yo-yo's messed up just like our other powers."

Redbug blinked. "So all we've got is our suits and the unbreakable yo-yo without any extra features?"

"Looks that way," Purplebug said. "No Ladybug smartphone, no Lucky Charm, no Miraculous Ladybug, and we can't detransform."

Redbug let out a string of curses that made Purplebug wince. "When I get hold of whoever's responsible for this, I'm gonna—!"

Purplebug facepalmed. "Can you calm down for five seconds? If Chat Noir didn't find any of us at the hotel, he's going to search either Eiffel Tower or Trocadero next. If we can't find him or any other Ladybugs, we'll meet back at Adrien's house, that's our fallback point."

Redbug blinked. "Adrien's house? Why—"

"Oh, did I forget to mention? Adrien is Chat Noir."

Redbug's eyes widened. She squeezed her yo-yo so tight it almost cracked. Her left eye twitched.

 _"Are. You. Fucking. **KIDDING ME?!** "_

* * *

After Orangebug confirmed that she'd already come from Eiffel Tower in the first place and hadn't seen any other Ladybugs, Chat Noir suggested searching Trocadero next. Orangebug agreed, and led Chat Noir straight to her favorite 'inspiration spot'.

There, they found a gold-suited Ladybug with silver spots dancing elegantly and enthusiastically around passersby, invading their personal space to look them up and down and critique their fashion.

"Ah, non non, Monsieur! Those colors, they should never be worn together! Ah, Mademoiselle, that purse matches that skirt perfectly! A braided belt would work better with that ensemble. Ah! My eyes! They burn! Who dressed you, Madame, a vomiting cat?"

"Meeeowch," Chat Noir said as he landed behind her, an amused smirk on his face.

Goldbug turned around. "Ah, hello Chaton!" she said brightly. She leaned in and flicked his bell. "You know, I've always loved this look for you. Not many people can pull off leather catboy fetish wear, but you? You make it work."

Chat Noir spluttered. "F-fetish wear—?!"

Orangebug facepalmed. "Oh, for..."

"AH! What is THIS?" Goldbug cried in alarm, staring at Orangebug. "That shade of orange, it is all wrong! Asian Lady Beetles have a more natural, subdued orange, not...not Orangina orange!"

Orangebug raised an eyebrow. "And silver spots go with gold so well, hmm?"

Goldbug blinked and looked down at herself, pursing her lips. "I...I admit, it's not my first choice..." She frowned. "Wait, why am I wearing this again?"

"Okay, I give," Chat Noir asked, shaking his head. "Which part of you is she?"

"The part of me that's a fashion critic, I guess," Orangebug said, biting her lip. "Mon Dieu..."

Goldbug blinked. "Eh? What's going on?"

The others quickly filled her in. "So now we've got to find the other Ladybugs," Chat Noir said. "We found _you_ here, so maybe it's time to look someplace else..." He frowned and opened his staff, trying to call Pinkbug or Purplebug. His frown deepened when he got a 'cannot connect' error. "Merde," he grumbled. "I think your yo-yos aren't getting signal like usual..."

"Makes sense, if the other Ladybug powers are on the fritz," Orangebug said, checking her own yo-yo. She frowned. "So what do we do?"

"Well, for now, I guess we fall back and wait for the others," Chat Noir said. "I...guess we go to my place." He sighed. "I mean, the cat's already out of the bag, might as well..."

Both Colorbugs blinked at him. "Huh?"

Chat Noir sighed. "At least two of you already know who I am," he said...

* * *

Bluebug watched Pinkbug roam all around Adrien's room, touching everything and sitting everywhere Adrien might sit and sighing. She shook her head. "You...you act like we even have a chance with him," she said. "If...if he saw this, he'd think there's something wrong with me." She frowned. "Maybe there is. I mean, if I act like this..." She grabbed her pigtails and pulled on them. "Ugh! I'm such a creepy stalker loser klutz! There's no way I'm good enough for Adrien! There's no way I'm good enough to be Ladybug! I'm...I'm just a pathetic—"

"Oh, come on," Pinkbug said lightly. "Adrien is Chat Noir, Chat Noir can't _stop_ trying to make passes at me!" She giggled. "It's in the bag, trust me! Have some faith in yourself!" She paused, blinking. "Well, I guess you can't, since you're _literally_ the part of me that doesn't have _any_ faith in myself..."

Bluebug sniffled. "It's...it's true!" she wailed. "I'm just a horrible, pathetic nothing! Why did it have to be _me_ , somebody confident and bold like Alya should've gotten the stupid Miraculous!"

"Yeah, I don't think so."

Pinkbug and Bluebug both looked up as two new Ladybugs and Chat Noir came in through the window. The orange-suited Ladybug had spoken up; she walked over to Bluebug and crouched in front of her. "We were chosen for a reason," she said firmly. "We've saved Paris over and over again. We've done amazing things both in and out of the suit. I know sometimes I feel like I'm not good enough, but then I look at all the good I've done and all the people I've helped and I understand that it could never have been anybody else _but_ me. _I. Am. Ladybug._ If I'd given away the Miraculous that first day, Alya would never have been able to do what I've done."

"Yeah, besides, with that hair? She'd never make the Ladybug look work," Goldbug said, one hand on a cocked hip. "Volpina, maybe, I could see her as. But Ladybug? No."

Pinkbug giggled. "Yeah, she'd look pretty silly." She looked at the two new arrivals, pursing her lips. "Okay, so which parts of me are _you_ guys?"

"Well, the orange one seems to be the...err... _Ladybug_ part of you," Chat Noir said. "I mean, she's laser focused and determined. We, err..."

"UGH!" Goldbug cried in disgust from the depths of Adrien's closet. "What _is_ this? How can you possibly dress so well on magazine covers and signs and so _horribly_ the rest of the time? You're rich but you dress like...!" She emerged from the closet, holding up a white jacket and a faded pair of jeans. "I can't even!"

"HEY! Adrien looks perfect in _everything!_ " Pinkbug cried.

Ignoring her, Goldbug looked around the room, frowning. "Ugh, this room, it's...stale. Is this a bedroom or a toy store? It looks like one of those cheap pizza places Americans take their kids for birthday parties. Is that why it stinks of cheese?" She wrinkled her nose. "This room has no soul. I'd love to take a weekend and rip everything out of here, rearrange it, make it feel more..." She gestured vaguely. "More like a room somebody actually _lives in_."

Chat Noir winced.

Bluebug stared, eyes wide. "Wow," she said. "That sounds like me about ten seconds before I take something I bought off the rack and shred it."

"I know, right?" Pinkbug said. "And she needs to stop, she's hurting Adrien's feelings!"

"Oh, how can I possibly be hurting his feelings," Goldbug said dismissively. "This room isn't him and he knows it! The only thing here that's remotely Adrien is the wallpaper on his computer. The rest of this, it's..." She shook her head.

Chat Noir sighed as he sat down. "Well she's not wrong," he admitted ruefully.

"Aww, don't be sad!" Pinkbug said, sitting down next to him and wrapping an arm around his shoulders, pressing up against him. He tensed up, blushing.

Orangebug pursed her lips. "Alright, so we need to plan for—"

"—figures," Ladybug's angry voice said from the window, making Orangebug trail off. "It just fucking _figures!_ "

Chat Noir's eyes widened. The Colorbugs in the room all blinked, turning to the window.

"Wow, I even _know_ that word?" Bluebug wondered. Orangebug facepalmed.

"Now, calm down," another, gentler voice said as Redbug and Purplebug climbed into the room. Purplebug looked around, blinking. "Wow, that's a _lot_ of Ladybugs," she said.

Redbug looked around the room. Her eyes narrowed. "Okay, when I get my hands on that little math witch, I'll divide _her_ all over Paris!"

"Eep!" Bluebug squeaked, drawing in on herself.

" _Someone's_ having a cow," Goldbug remarked.

Orangebug pinched the bridge of her nose. "Oh, for..." She shook her head. "Okay, Ladybugs? _All of us?_ Gather over here," she said. Giving Redbug a sharp look, she added, "Unless you _want_ to be stuck like this?"

Redbug grumbled, but joined her, taking her yo-yo off her hip. The others gathered together; Pinkbug whimpered as Purplebug peeled her away from Chat Noir, but joined the rest, blowing a kiss to her partner. The six Colorbugs stood shoulder to shoulder, leaving just enough room to throw their yo-yos into the air.

"On three," Orangebug said. "One, two, three... **LUCKY CHARM!** "

Six different-colored yo-yos shot straight into the air. A weak pulse of rainbow-colored ladybugs spiraled out from the combined yo-yos, but abruptly faded. The yo-yos returned to the waiting palms of their owners.

Chat Noir sagged.

Redbug growled. "Well that was a bust."

Bluebug cringed. "I knew it," she said. "I really can't do anything right..."

"What do we do now?" Purplebug said softly. "How do we...how do we help Paris like this?"

Orangebug frowned. "No, wait," she said. " _Something_ happened. You all saw it, right?"

Chat Noir blinked. "Hey, yeah!" he said. "When Purplebug tried it on her own, nothing happened at all! But just now, it...it looked like it _tried_ to work!"

"Hey, he's right," Goldbug said, staring at her open yo-yo. "Look!"

The other Colorbugs opened their yo-yos. The inside display of each one had changed to a pattern of seven colored dots. Six of the dots were lit up, but the seventh was dimmed out.

Purplebug's brow furrowed. "Red, orange, purple, blue, pink, gold...yellow." She looked around at the others. "There's a yellow Ladybug we haven't found yet."

Orangebug nodded. "We need to find the yellow Ladybug," she said. "Then we can fix all this." She looked around at the Colorbugs. "Spread out. Search for her. Regroup at Eiffel Tower."

"Is spreading out a good idea, though?" Purplebug asked. "I mean, how will we know when to regroup?"

"Let's regroup in...two hours," Orangebug decided. "If none of us have found her by then, we'll keep looking."

Chat Noir frowned at the time. "I'd better get back to school," he said. "If I'm not seen there when lunch ends, it'll be trouble for me."

Pinkbug nodded. "Right, I'll go back to school with Adrien, so—"

"No, you'll _search for Yellowbug like the rest of us,_ " Redbug growled.

"If Yellowbug shows up at school, Adrien can send her to the tower to meet up with the rest of us," Orangebug said. She looked at the others seriously. "We need to be careful. We don't know who the Akumatized was before she turned into Dividia, so we don't know when or if she'll be Akumatized again, but we _do_ know that a whole army of Dividias would be a major disaster."

Bluebug whimpered. "I don't know if I can do this..."

"You _can_ ," Orangebug said confidently. "Come on, girls. Let's bug out!"

 **À SUIVRE...**

* * *

 _Miraculous Ladybug is the intellectual property of Zagtoon, Method Animation, Toei Animation, and Thomas ASTRUC. This intellectual property is used without permission with no intent to profit from said use. The unique content contained on this page is the property of Mythril Moth, and redistribution of this content without express permission is strongly discouraged._


End file.
